September 15, 2012

... has what I've most wanted (and not yet found) in a Kindle: "Crisp, dark text against a brilliant white background." I haven't seen that yet, but it's enough to make me buy another Kindle... especially considering that Kindles are weirdly cheap, in this case, $119. Also: "New Time to Read feature uses your reading speed to let you know when you'll finish your chapter." (Note: I get a percentage if you buy yours at that link... or buy anything after you enter Amazon through that link.)

13 comments:

Will the "brilliant white background" with "built-in light" of the Paperwhite defeat the putative advantage that the older B&W Kindles had when reading before bed without disrupting the reader's sleep pattern?

Devices like the Kindle, the Nook (the top part of the screen that displays books) and popular e-readers from Sony use a technology called e-paper. It simulates the look of an actual printed page and does not emit light. That means, unlike the iPad, you can effectively read in direct sunlight. (Beach, anyone?)

The iPad, however, contains a touchscreen liquid-crystal display that, like computer screens and television sets, emits light. On the plus side, you can sneak the device under the covers while your significant other sleeps beside you and flip through a couple pages of a book without a flashlight.

But staring at the screen before bed could leave you lying awake. That's because direct exposure to such abnormal light sources inhibits the body's secretion of melatonin, say several sleep experts.

If you've watched any late-night TV, you've no doubt heard the term thrown around in commercials for sleeping pills. Melatonin signals are sent through the brain as a response to darkness, telling the body to prepare to shut down for the night.

Light-emitting devices, including cellphones and yep, the iPad, tell the brain to stay alert. Because users hold those devices so close to their face, staring directly into the light, the effect is amplified compared with, say, a TV across the room or a bedside lamp, said Frisca Yan-Go, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center in Santa Monica.

Some say e-ink is easier on the eyes than the screen on a computer (tablet or otherwise). However, the Wall Street Journal published a report this month to the contrary...

especially considering that Kindles are weirdly cheap, in this case, $119.

Kindles will just keep getting better and cheaper in accordance with the trend for electronics components. The more tempting the device, the more media Amazon can sell you.

(I saw that in all the media coverage of the new Kindle Fire line, there was a tendency to dismiss the new base-model Fire, $159, as simply a price break on the old $199 one. Actually, the new one has a faster processor, twice the memory, and a longer battery life than the old $199 model.)